It’s still hard for me to believe it’s already been over five years since The Last Dance – ESPN’s 10-part docuseries on the ‘90s-era Chicago Bulls – hit the airwaves. A hit amid the COVID lockdown, Jason Hehir’s documentary earned acclaim from critics and fans and even won a Primetime Emmy. However, the show also drew the ire of some former Bulls players, who felt they were either unfairly depicted or not featured enough. Horace Grant expressed his disdain early on, and it seems he still has less-than-stellar thoughts now.
Horace Grant was drafted by the Bulls in 1987 and ultimately played for the organization until he left to join the Orlando Magic in 1994. During his time in Chicago, Grant was part of the Bulls’ three, consecutive championship runs between 1991 and 1993. So, considering his place in the NBA franchise’s history, it made perfect sense for Grant to appear in The Last Dance. However, as the former player himself revealed on former teammate Stacey King’s Gimme the Hot Sauce Podcast, he almost didn’t join the project:
The crazy thing about it [is] I rejected it for two or three years. They’d been asking, ‘Horace, we’re doing this…’ I’m like, ‘Nope, I’m not doing it.’
During the interview (which is on YouTube), the three-time NBA champion went on to say that he only participated in the documentary as a favor to a friend. Grant ultimately wasn’t too pleased with the way the project turned out. More specifically, Grant took issue with Michael Jordan’s claims that he leaked locker room information to journalist Sam Smith, who would go on to write a much-discussed book in 1991, The Jordan Rules. Grant shared more critiques during his recent interview, as he took aim at how the show was edited:
Once I saw it, they cut that thing like sliced cheese. I mean, I’m sitting there — I could not believe it, to be honest. To be transparent, I could not believe how much they cut it up and made the majority of us look incompetent.
The initial responses from Bulls players were somewhat mixed, with Steve Kerr sharing a more positive take on the show. However, Kerr’s view does match up with Horace Grant’s and Stacey King’s in one respect, as they all weren’t pleased with how ex-teammate Scottie Pippen was portrayed. The doc puts emphasis on Pippen’s decision to delay off-season surgery on his foot so that his summer wouldn’t be impacted. Some believe the doc makes Pippen out to be selfish, and Grant believes it doesn’t do his old friend justice:
I think it was [an] unfair portrayal of one of the Top 75 players in Scottie in that documentary.
Scottie Pippen himself initially claimed he had no problem with the docuseries. However, he later skewered the documentary and Michael Jordan in his memoir, Unguarded. Pippen contended that because Michael Jordan’s media company had final say editorially, Jordan used the doc to “uplift” himself and not give others their deserved credit. Since then, Jordan and Pippen have been estranged. In that time, CinemaBlend also spoke with Last Dance producer Jake Rogal, who felt “bad” about the situation and said he believed Pippen was made to look like a “hero.”
Horace Grant’s latest comments as well as Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen’s continued estrangement seem to suggest that sometimes time doesn’t heal all wounds. In any case, though, everyone is entitled to their thoughts on The Last Dance. Fans can form their own opinions on the doc by streaming it with a Netflix subscription.
